She Too

She Too

She too. She too. He's
Not awake, not asleep
Not there. Not here
 
Just single shots
 
Sits then stands up
Looks at his hands
Their whitened blood
 
Ceasefire in force
 
Later on she was nothing but a body too heavy
             to bear
 
Pointless eyes
 
Five were killed when their vehicle drove over
 
A mouth begging to say
Nothing is understood
 
Whom shall he bear in his hands now?
Unto whose mouth shall he offer food?
Noise has wrecked    How shall he live without this
            suffering?
 
The ceasefire was implemented
On the Egyptian side single shots were heard
 
His shadow wastes away
Hard to bear this harsh light
The days of youth have long passed on
 
I used to think that death was nothing but an
              accident
 

She Too

She too. She too. He
is not awake, not asleep
Not there. Not here
 
Mere few shots
Sits down and gets up
Looks at his hands
Their blood has whitened
 
The ceasefire is in force
 
Eventually she was but an unbearably heavy body
 
Eyes of no use
 
Five were killed when their vehicle drove over
 
A mouth trying to say
Nothing can be understood
 
Who will he carry in his hands now?
To whose mouth will he serve food?
 
Noise has destroyed      How will he live without this suffering?
 
The ceasefire took hold
On the Egyptian side a few shots were heard
 
His shadow is growing thin
Difficult to take this strong light
The days of youth have long ago gone
 
I used to think that death was no more than an accident
 

Original Poem by

Tuvya Ruebner

Translated by

Oded Manor with The Poetry Translation Workshop Language

Hebrew

Country

Israel